Real Dialogue Conferences
Oct 2000-01

Over 200 people have taken part in the first three Real Dialogue Conferences, organised by Antidote in association with SAPERE (Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education) and the Values Education Council. These have taken place in London, Belfast and Manchester.

The aim of the conferences has been to look at how dialogue can enhance young people's learning, creativity and sense of belonging. Participants at all three events have shared a sense that dialogue has the capacity to inject meaning and excitement into young people's learning. "It throws up new possibilities," one said, "and it helps people to connect." The specific discussions of each conference reflected the different make-up of participants.

Those attending the London conference came from a wide variety of backgrounds. They included teachers from primary and secondary schools, management consultants, charity officers, teacher educators, theatre specialists, psychotherapists and several others.

Unsurprinsgly, the discussion ranged broadly.

Various definitions of dialogue were considered. Most of these built on the idea that it was a process that involved the mutual development of understanding through shared enquiry into the perspectives of others.

Dialogue was seen as being a particularly effective way to learn because it engages young people emotionally at the same time as it stimulates their thinking. Dialogue promotes self-confidence and well-being in pupils, as well as their teachers. Schools can become happier communities, better able to enjoy the diversity within them. There was, in the view of the London participants, no area of the curriculum, or school activity, where dialogue was irrelevant. It can enrich those elements in every subject that are concerned with interactions between people - how language shapes interpersonal communication, how social processes result in historical events and how scientists collaborate to formulate theories about natural process.

The Belfast Conference, organised jointly with the Regional Training Unit, brought together a group of Principals and Vice-Principals whose interest was in finding ways to overcome the organisational and community blocks to the development of more dialogic approaches in schools. Factors identified as blocks to dialogue ranged from the competitive transfer system that many hoped would be abolished soon, and the cultural sanction given to the bantering putdown.

"The key"' one Principal argued, "is enabling teachers to be open and trusting with each other. This will lead to the transmission of this practice to the good management of their classes." There was talk about ways to facilitate dialogue in the staffroom, and to allow for experiential learning to take place during meetings. Participants recognised that such a process needed to start with those who were 'willing'. Others would come on board as the benefits became apparent.

Strategies for persuading parents of the merits in this approach focused on presenting them with strong research, engaging them in dialogue and enlisting employers to support the case. This would help to create contexts in which it would be possible to give students more of a voice in planning of learning and running their schools.

The bulk of participants at the Manchester conference worked in multi-disciplinary contexts with the disaffected. Their primary concern was to challenge the ways in which our education system leads some to internalise a poor self concept. Parents, teachers and pupils all needed support to develop the social confidence that would enable them to value their own knowledge and expertise.

Practical ideas discussed included providing young people with opportunities to try out different roles, setting up small-scale action-research projects to give young people a voice and using every interaction as a way of communicating to young people the message that adults are genuinely listening to them.

The Real Dialogue conference series moves on to Rugby (30th March), Bristol (11th May) and Edinburgh (6 October). Further events will be planned for the winter. Our eventual aim is to develop a package of multi-media tools designed to generate understanding of the ways in which people learn and develop through dialogue, and encourage young people to explore different ways of communicating with each other.


Conference reports